By Karen Lofgreen

By the obedience of one [man] shall many be made righteous (Rom. 5:19).

I Believe in Being Obedient

Being obedient means being willing to make right choices. When you are obedient, you are blessed. Can you remember a time when you were blessed because you obeyed a commandment, a law, or your parents?

President Howard W. Hunter knew that it was important to obey his parents. He also learned that it is important to obey Heavenly Father’s commandments. He kept a journal, in which he told about things that happened in his early life and about the lessons he learned then.

For example, in those days, you could buy fruits and vegetables only at the time they were harvested in your area. Each spring he helped plant a family garden. During the summer and fall, he picked the fruits and vegetables and helped his mother preserve, or save, them for eating during months when they weren’t otherwise available.

His mother taught him to pray, and he developed a testimony while he was very young. He said, “My mother had taught me to pray and to thank Heavenly Father for all the things that I enjoyed. I often thanked Him for the beauty of the earth and for the wonderful times that I had at the ranch and by the river and with the Scouts. I also learned to ask Him for the things that I wanted or needed.”

When he was eight years old, he wanted to be baptized. His nonmember father felt that Howard should be older before he joined any church. Though he knew Heavenly Father wanted him to be a member of the Church, he also knew it was important to do what his father wanted him to do. He honored his father by waiting for his permission. Five months after his twelfth birthday, Howard was baptized.

When he was a teenager, the Saints in Boise, Idaho, met with Church officials to talk about building a new tabernacle. The Boise members were asked to donate money to build the tabernacle, and Howard was the first to raise his hand. He pledged twenty-five dollars—a lot of money for a teenager in those days—as his offering. “I worked and saved until I was able to pay my commitment in full,” he said.

Instructions: The pictures of President Hunter on page 43 show some of the things that he did to be obedient. Fill in the missing word(s) under each picture. On separate sheets of paper, draw pictures of ways that you are obedient. Label and color the pictures.